The warming spices of Autumn fill my mind with thoughts of mulled wine, fragrant coffees, and spiced cider: the very things to ward against the season’s chill. This tasty basic syrup can be blended with tea and spirits for toddies, or added to rich coffee for a sophisticated espresso-bar delight, or to creamy drinking chocolate.
Makes approximately one cup / 240 millilitres of syrup:
1 cinnamon stick
5 allspice berries
2 whole cloves
1 cup / 200 grams granulated sugar
1⁄4 cup / 60 milliliters Irish whiskey
1⁄2 cup / 75 grams cooked pumpkin from one small pumpkin, or use canned pure pumpkin
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 whole vanilla bean, scraped and chopped
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-heat, combine the cinnamon stick, allspice berries, and cloves. Warm the spices, stirring them constantly with a wooden spoon so that they don’t burn, for about 1 minute, or until you smell the spices. As soon as you smell them, turn them out of the pan onto some paper towels, to allow them to cool, or else they’ll scorch. (You’ll be adding them back to the pan with the other ingredients).
Add the sugar, whiskey, pumpkin, ginger, vanilla bean, 1 cup / 240 millilitres of water, and the toasted spices, and bring the mixture to a light simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool. Let it rest, loosely covered with a clean tea towel, in a cool corner for a day, then strain the syrup through a colander and discard the solids.
Strain again through a colander lined with cheesecloth, to remove any remaining fine sediment. Ladle into smaller, clean jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.
